I hate to bring the virtual room down after the big win last night but there are a few things that left a less than delightful taste in my mouth:
1. Man, did the calls go our way! That one blocking foul they called on Duncan in the final minutes of regulation was bogus. Then they tacked on a T. If I were a Spurs fan I would be seething about that right now. Maybe it's karma for all the whining San Antonio does. But if that call had been made against the Mavs, the NBA fines would be flying this morning!
2. Were our guards wearing neck braces? Apparently, they couldn't turn their head to see Manu Ginobili sneaking up to pick their pockets. He did it like five times and we're just lucky he got called for fouls on two or three of them. Jet, Quisy, Josh: listen to me. When you get a rebound in the lane, there's going to be traffic. Some of the guys running past you will be wearing different colored shirts and they might take swipe at the ball.
3. I thought we were supposed to be a big, bad defensive vice. All the Spurs were doing is what they normally do - get the ball to Duncan on the block and from there he either takes a mini-drive to the hoop, kicks out to an open shooter, or gets the ball to Parker who dives down the lane. Do they keep a stat on number of defensive stops per game? Because I bet we got way fewer stops than average last night. The score at the end of regulation was 111-111.
4. Dampier played hard but I think we could have used more minutes from Diop. When Damp fouled out, we only got better. Of course, then Diop fouled out...
5. Dirk had 28 points and was a big part but he wasn't THE man. I want Dirk to be THE man. I would feel way better about this game if our star had stepped up and hit the big shots to win the game last night rather than knowing that we stole it by Jason Terry hitting a rafter-bouncing, 20-footer over Duncan with the shot clock on his back.
6. The whole game I felt like we didn't have control and didn't win it on our own merits. We seemed to have a lot of help from God and Dick Bavetta.
7. From here on out, it's all about attitude. If the Mavs start to believe that there's no way SA can win three in a row, they'll lose the series. If the Spurs get so frustrated that they throw their hands up, they'll lose the series.
8. Finally, Barkley. I tend to like Barkley. I mean, I think he knows what he's talking about and he doesn't take himself too seriously. But the man has such an anti-Mavs bias, it's ridiculous. I believe it has been well-documented through the years. He doesn't like Dampier. He is only now starting to believe that Dirk isn't a flash in the pan. And he's not sold on the coaching skills of the NBA Coach of the Year. Last night at halftime, he said he thought that whoever wins the game would win the series. After the game, he said he thought San Antonio would come back and win the series. Maybe if the Mavs make it to the finals this year and beat Detroit in four games while wearing ankle weights and blindfolds, then he'll say Dallas is a good team.
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